High cirrostratus clouds refract moonlight, creating a bright halo around the moon that guided paddlers during the first full-moon float last Saturday at Fellows Lake. / Wes Johnson/News-Leader

The water’s surface is oily smooth, and paddling is easy as I head farther into the middle of the lake. If there’s a hint of a breeze, I cannot detect it.

To my left and right I observe faint glowing lights slowly making progress against the far shore. There are other paddlers enjoying the first-ever nighttime paddle on Springfield’s main drinking water lake.

Many night water adventures end up in cliche — traversing the “inky blackness” or passing beneath a “spray of stars overhead.”

But this evening is far from any cliche. I dip my paddle and slowly spin my kayak until I face east and take in a truly astronomical sight.

Above, the full moon rising behind a veil of high cirrostratus clouds reflects sunlight in pale shades of gray. Trillions of tiny ice crystals in the clouds bend and redirect the moonlight, creating a perfect halo around the moon. The circle covers a quarter of the sky.

As the moon rises higher, the halo doesn’t fade but brightens, its circular edge clearly reflecting in the lake’s mirror surface.

Though it’s 9:30 p.m., we aren’t really paddling in the dark. The moon’s glow illuminates my kayak enough that the green color of its hull is discernible even without a flashlight. My eyes have adjusted to the lunar light, and fellow paddlers are visible hundreds of yards away.

The stars have aligned just right to make this an exceptional, memorable full-moon float.

“We caught two nice-sized bass on a big spinner, but no muskies,” he said. “But we heard deer on shore and saw several beavers in the water. A couple did the big ‘kerploosh’ thing with their tails as a warning. And that moon halo was awesome. We just really enjoyed being out there. It was a privilege to be on the lake, especially with my friend.”

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As the moon rose higher, kayak paddler Steve Short of Fair Grove prepared to launch his craft near the Fellows Lake boat ramp.

He has never paddled at night, and in fact has only been kayaking about two months. But the rare chance to explore Fellows Lake after sunset was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“It’s the excitement of kayaking under a harvest moon,” Short says, looking up at the halo in the sky. “I’ve never done this before. If it would have been windy I’d be much more concerned. But I think this will just be a beautiful evening.”

Paddling solo in his kayak, Doane Smith of Springfield said this was his first nighttime outing, as well.

“There were a lot of fish surfacing around me, and I was surprised by the lack of mosquitoes,” he said. “I enjoyed it. I passed quite a few people and I don’t know if they even saw me — I was paddling very quietly.

“When I was paddling near the bridge I could hear owls up in the woods. Your sense of hearing does get more sensitive when you’re paddling in the dark. Along a gravel bar near the bridge, I surprised a heron. When they take off, they make a big squawk.”

Smith said the experience was vastly different from kayaking during the day, especially in one respect.

“I felt safe,” he said. “There were no power boats.”

Drifting in their camouflage-painted canoe, anglers Chuck and Linda Blackwell of Nixa were waiting for the first catfish of the night to hit their bait.

They enjoyed the rare chance to fish the lake at night and hope City Utilities agrees to open the lake more often for nighttime paddling.

Linda offers a message to CU and the marina folks who planned the first full-moon float at the lake.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaims.

More moonlight floats ahead?

Pam Price, who with husband Paul operates the Fellows Lake Marina, said the event drew 27 people who explored the lake in a combination of 24 canoes, kayaks and one paddle boat.

Despite the long hours for the couple, she hopes to offer more moonlight floats in the future.

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“We want to do it again, maybe when the moon is full in June or July, so the weather is a little warmer, although I personally thought it was perfect,” Pam said. “I first saw the moon come up when I was at the high spot on the hill. But then when it got full in the sky and it had that circular halo, it was just awesome.

“And even before the moon came out, the sunset was just spectacular,” she adds. “People missed so much by not being out here.”

About Fellows Lake

• The 820-acre lake is located about five miles north of Springfield, with several points of public access on Farm Road 66, west of U.S. 65.

• A City Utilities yearly permit is required to put a private boat on the lake. Obtain a yearly permit at http://www.fellowslakemarina.com/" alt="" title="" target="_blank">Fellows Lake Marina, 4208 East Farm Road 66, 417-833-2058. There is a motor size restriction of 40 horsepower. Use of the boat ramp and docks is limited from sunrise to sunset. In addition, there are picnic areas, pavilions, hiking trails and playground equipment.

• Wading and swimming are not permitted in Fellows Lake. Water skiing is permitted only at certain times and in specific areas. Hunting is managed by the http://mdc.mo.gov/" alt="Missouri Department of Conservation" title="Missouri Department of Conservation" target="_blank">Missouri Department of Conservation, 417-895-6880.

• Fellows Lake Marina is open March 1 through Oct. 31, sunrise to sunset.